"So what, are there no other companions for you here - no one that you enjoy spending time with; no siblings, no friends that came from Dullstrand with you? And please note the punctuation - that's all rolled into one question!

Trinity listened to Mel. She had the habit, Mel noted, of looking into his eyes when he spoke. Something that many humans didn't do, instead talking over and beyond him because of his height.

"The most amazing thing. Pelor, I wouldn't know where to begin. As we sailed here I saw a double rainbow over open water. When we arrived, I watched a band of brave adventurers battle creatures evil from the deep.Yesterday I walked through a cliff wall that wasn't really there. Then I flew a giant eagle from the top of Lost Souls falls back to the beach." She said the last part as she spun in a circle, her feet making small splashes in the water.

"But to be honest, my happiest moment is occuring right now."

Trinity bit her lip and slightly flushed, and walked forward once again.

"I count four questions!" Mel laughed gleefully as she came to the realization that she had asked so many questions in rapid succession.

"Seriously, though," he said sobering, "although I've never met Beige, I've been accompanying Elberrin for a week, and I sailed with him for four months. In all that time I've never heard him more than whisper. So, yes, he is behaving oddly. I also note the T'Riad was trying to impress more than ususal, and he's generally over at the loud fires, not at the quiet ones. I think he irritated that axe-nosed woman too."

"Now, another question for me...what's the most remarkable thing that you've seen since coming on this journey?"

"I have no idea what that was all about back there. Elberrin, Gage, myself and two others were with Ivellious yesterday. We all learned alot and seemed to get along fine," she said as she walked slowly.

She reached down and picked up a seashell. "Pretty heh?" she asked as she showed it to Mel. The light from the moon made it easy enough to see.

"Gage seemed mad back there didn't he? Now that I think on it, he was a little grumpy at times yesterday. While Elberrin on the other hand was really quiet and thoughtful, he seemed a little loud back there. Does he drink?"

She stopped mid-track and looked at Mel. "Wait a minute, that is so not like two questions right?"

"Oh no, I asked you about the shell too. This game is so unfair." She said, putting her lip out and pretending to be slighted.

Mel remained on alert, looking to and fro, trying to disguise an opportunity to look back over his shoulder to see the reactions of T, Elb, and this new fellow Gage. Elberrin clearly thought that Gage was more than another person; the little halfling filed away a mental note to talk to Elberrin about that in a more private moment. It seemed to Mel that this Gage fellow had some specific animosity towards him, but why that might be escaped him...for now.

"Oh, I'm officially a scout, I guess." he replied. "As to the difference, I think that rangers tend to have more structured instruction; they of course run the gammut from stuffy to not, but they're all 'Oh, the world needs me to protect it'. Scouts are varied too, but I'm just a small, nosey guy who can be really quiet when he wants to be. That makes a scout. I guess. As for whether or not that counts as three, yes it does count as four." Mel smiled mischievously.

"Let's see...how about why is everyone seeming to act so oddly when you're near?"

"That counts as my question?" Mel asked incredulously, pointedly ignoring Gage as the pair head off for a more refined area. "There's got to be a quiet fire where two people can become friends. So, what made you choose ranger as a profession?"

WTF?!? All day long, all they can say is "Mel, shut up. Mel, go away. Mel, shut up. Mel, can I talk? Mel, shut up. Mel, do you know how to be quiet? Mel, I'm over here trying to be sad, could you shut up for a moment? Mel, where's the beef? Mel, shut up. Mel, go away. Mel, don't you have anyone else to bother? Mel, I think I just saw a gem under the water, why don't you go have a look? Mel, shut up. Mel, stop talking, Mel, I'm not going to say this again (ya, right). Mel, shut up. Mel, go away. Mel, this looks like a trap, why don't you walk on in. Mel, go away. Mel, shut up. Mel, try this poison. Mel, shut up already. Mel, that's not a real song. Mel, look - a red dragon! Mel, stop talking. Mel, I'm going to poke my eardrums out if you don't stop.

Now here I am, trying my level-best to not bother any of them, and all they can do is follow me?!? Not that I blame them, but by Moradin's girdle, get a life already. It's not all about me, you know!

"Hey!" Mel spoke as loudly as Elberrin had been. "This is the quiet fire! That one (where we left you) is the noisey fire!" Mel grabed a stone thrown in his general direction by the juggling monk, and standing yelled, "Everybody, throw a stone at the monk!" With that, Mel threw his stone back to T, not waiting for the (hopefully) hapless monk to be in position to catch it.

"I'm sorry, Glade, you and I will have to meet in the morning. Right now I'm playing a game of "Ask-a-question", and if you all don't mind, it's my turn to ask a question." The little halfling turned back to Trinity and asked, "Would you like to continue this conversation in a more simple place?."

T'Riad keeps up the juggling display and continues to watch Arnines facial expressions trying to figure out what she's looking at. He moves about to the beat of the music and as he juggles the stones (9 of them) he lightly tosses a stone to random people in the crowd. He shouts, "When I get to the opposite side of the fire toss the stones to me!". T'Riad moves around the fire combining his Katas with his dancing and juggles the stones as he collects them from the crowd. He continues to keep an eye on Arnine.

"What do you mean? Oh hey, there's Mel and Trinity, have you met Mel? C'mon over I'll introduce you! Hey Mel, slide over!" Elberrin appeared not to hear Gage.

"Mel has got some stories, let me tell you! Have you had any of that wine they've got over at the community tent? Grade A!" Elberrin herds Gage over to the stump where Mel and Trinity sat.

"Trin, you remember Gage, right? Mel, this is Gage, he's training with us under Ivellious." Elberrin glared hard at Mel during the intro, keeping his gaze grave, hoping that Mel picked up on the fact that this wasn't just a recreational introduction.